to start, I booked my my stay through AAA. But not until I found the price on-line. I then had to coach AAA along to get me the same price I could book by myself. But they finally managed to do it.

once at the hotel I found tall but one of the staff to be accommodating. Our room had a garden view, we attempted to upgrade but that proved to be too much of a hassle so we stayed where we were - we weren't in the room much anyway. The room itself was fine, nothing spectacular, but comfortable, enough, plenty of room and clean. The mattress's were upgraded while we were there as well so they are much more comfortable.

The pool area and beach were great. as others have posted the beach was rocky, but if I had been going for the beach I would have chosen Aruba or somewhere like that.

I LOVED the location, walking distance to everything. The food varied. The breakfasts were WONDERFUL, lunch was OK and dinner buffet was hit and miss, some days great and some days just alright. We choose the all inclusive because the price was so reasonable we figured we could eat out several nights anyway and we did find some wonderful restaurants.

The bar was fine. We had plenty of alcohol in our drinks and never had to wait for a refill. The alcohol was not of the best quality, but I didn't expect it to be in an all inclusive. The bartenders were very willing to make drinks to our specifications and we often took fresh fruit from the buffet and had them whip up some made to order drink with it.

Overall a good experience and for the price I would definitely stay there again.

Just returned from the Buenaventura Grand Hotel & Spa. My girlfriend and I were there for a week. Our first room was along the side of the building overlooking the parking lot, but we requested another room and after 2 nights received a room with an oceanfront view. The room and bathroom were spacious and clean. Air conditioning worked great, clean towels and toiletries every day. We took advantage of the buffet every morning and the sous chef's prepared great omelettes. Lunch time was usually spent around the pool and we ordered from the bar. Not bad menu selection. The al a carte restaurants were excellent, especially the Sunset which is right on the beach. There were a variety of activities like beach volleyball, aquasize, salsa making. The two best things about this place were the proximity to the Old Town and Malecon and the waiters. Kudos to Gus our poolside waiter who made us feel very welcome and kept the Pina Coladas coming. Also a huge thank you to Jose from the Sunset Restaurant for making sure that two ladies made it back to our room safely after closing down the restaurant and strolling along the ocean. We've never been here before but met some people who had been there 6 times and would continue to return. I'm not sure if it was because we had arrived so late in the season or not, but there was never any lineups for dinner, for beach chairs, or for bar service. I really liked the fact that the place seemed to be oriented towards families and the noise level was never an issue. If you do get a room without a view or at the back of the building facing the street, ask to be moved and keep asking until you are moved because the streets are incredibly noisy. The custodians seemed to be cleaning and repairing all the time and the wait staff was extremely friendly. I would not hesitate to bring my family here for one second. It was all good!

We stayed at the Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Spa from April 10 through April 15. We booked the Buenaventura based on two factors: price for an all-inclusive vacation, and the hotel location. I had read the Trip Advisor reviews extensively both before and after we booked our hotel. Although our stay was overall pleasant, we would not consider staying at the Buenaventura again, despite its excellent location.

We booked the hotel through a major internet booking agency. We initially booked a standard room online, but subsequently decided to upgrade our room. We called the booking agency and asked what other room types were available. The company called the hotel directly to inquire about room types, while we stayed on hold, and returned to describe the Junior Suites with living room, bedroom, and Jacuzzi tubs. We specifically verified that the room had a “dining” area, couch, and separate bedroom because we were traveling with friends and thought it would be nice to have extra space. I emailed the hotel three times prior to leaving the U.S. to confirm our reservation, but never received a response. I also printed off the booking agency’s “You’ll Never Roam Alone” guarantee information, so that I would have it handy just in case something came up.

Well, something did come up. We arrived at the hotel around 4:30 or 5:00 in the evening and were greeted with a nice rum punch. It went downhill from there. Front desk staff claimed that we had booked a Honeymoon Suite, not a Junior Suite (a Honeymoon Suite is essentially a hotel room with a spa tub). When I whipped out the paperwork indicating otherwise, they made excuses. They claimed everything from the travel agency booked the wrong code to they no longer have Junior Suites, to they renamed everything during the renovation (the name matters why?). When I told them that we had the agency call them directly to confirm the furnishings in the room, they were unmoved.

So, we called the booking agency to invoke their guarantee that our booking would be right or they’d make it right. An HOUR AND A HALF later, after speaking with several people with indecipherable Indian accents, the agency sided with the hotel. We were placed in a Honeymoon Suite. (By the way, the Honeymoon Suite was nice, just not what we booked.) While checking in, several people wandering through the lobby told my husband that the hotel pulled the same bait-and-switch on them. They booked ocean view rooms but got street view rooms, or they booked a Honeymoon Suite and the hotel tried to claim that they hadn’t. Another person, who went through a different booking agency, had the same problem with the Junior Suite.

Fast Forward to Day 2: the hotel “generously” decided to give us a free “upgrade” to a Junior Suite. So, we packed our bags and handed them over to the bellman. While the room did have the extra space we wanted, there were several problems with the room.

1) No view. There were patios with sliding glass doors, but they were in the far corners of the room and looked at the back of the hotel next door, beyond which was the ocean. Those patios were also the only windows in the room, causing a cave-like ambiance to the room.

2) Air conditioning. One air conditioning unit leaked rivers of water everywhere. The other unit failed to work for 24 hours (we were only there for 5 nights).

3) The smell. The room smelled like a sewage treatment plant. Really. When we complained to housekeeping, they put a rubber mat over the shower drain, which helped keep the smell down some, but not completely. We had to leave the bathroom fan running constantly, couldn’t shut the bathroom door for any length of time, and even resorted to airing the room out by leaving patio doors open, despite the heat. It was truly awful.

4) No spa tub. I was really looking forward to using the spa tub, as I love a good soak before going to bed. No luck.

Other Pros/Cons:

Prior reviews indicate that the beds are hard. They are not kidding. Bedding consists of a slab of concrete, one worn out mattress, one well-used foam pad, and some very nice sheets and comforters. The end result is that the bed looks lovely, the sheets feel soft, but you will hurt yourself if you flop down on the bed.

The location was fantastic, maybe a 15 minute walk to the Malecon, even for this slow poke.

The pools and public areas were very nice. Furnishings were attractive and comfortable, and the pools were heated nicely.

The beach was very rocky, and the water not swimable. I knew going in that Puerto Vallarta is not known for its beaches, unlike say Cancun, so this was no surprise. But, the palapas and hammocks on the beach were plentiful and wait staff was attentive. It was a nice place to relax in the sun and sip a beverage, but not a place to swim.

Food was OK. It was edible, fresh fruit was plentiful at the buffet and omelets were tasty. The reservation restaurants had limited hours and you had to reserve the next night’s dinner between 8 and 10 am. If you miss that window of time you are eating in the buffet. The reservation restaurants were OK, they consistently met my expectations of mediocrity – but I’m a little bit of a food snob.

Liquor was terrible, really terrible. On occasion we were able to get a decent brand of vodka, but for the most part it was some unknown, undrinkable vodka. The tequila had the boquet and aroma of paint thinner, with a nasty aftertaste. I found rum-based drinks to be much better and so stuck to daiquiris, pina coladas, and mojitos.

If anyone has specific questions, please feel free to send a message and I will try to respond in a timely manner. I’m sorry for not having pictures, I totally forgot.

Ok, so my roommates and I had spend a good amount of time on tripadvisor.com checking reviews for the Buenaventura before booking and traveling. There were a number of negative reviews that we found just weren't true! We traveled from April 18-22, a quick trip, and had the time of our lives! We traveled as 3, 23-27 year olds from Oregon who needed some sun in our lives and the Buenaventura had just what we needed.

The new renovations are amazing, just as they appear in the website photos. Our room was perfect, newly remodeled, ready on time, and just what we ordered. The staff was beyond amazing, willing to accommodate at any turn. It's true that a lot of the servers and bartenders didn't have the best English but they tried, even though YOU were in THEIR country. The fact that people expect that blows me away! They do have an adult area with a bar, a bunch of lounge chairs and those submerged loungers which is where the 3 of us spent most of our days. Servers brought drinks, our loungers were looking right out into the ocean, and there were no kids screaming/running around.

There are two bars out by the pools. One in the adult area and another bigger one by the "Sunset" restaurant. The bigger one was the meet up spot at night where you could mingle with guest. Yes, the bar is "only" open until 1am but if you want to party any longer, the Malecon (with some of the best bars ever) is only 5 blocks away. A very quick stroll. The restaurants are fine, we did the all-inclusive deal and yes, the buffet did get a little old on the 4th day but you can always count on the French Toast and an omelet made to order. The specialty restaurants are very good so make sure to book your reservations with the concierge on the nights that they are open. I was surprised to find the 24-hour room service menu very limited but if you just call down they will make you whatever you want!

Alex and Julio are in charge of the activities. Now, we are not all 8 year-old kids and don't need someone to constantly create activities so that we don't get bored, BUT there was still always something to do. I played beach volleyball almost everyday. There was water aerobics, water volleyball, a beer/pina colada chugging contest, cooking lessons, karaoke, kayaking, and music by the pool. Whoever had the review that there was nothing to do must have been there on a bad week because there was plenty to get involved in if you wanted to.

The Buenaventura's location to the Malecon and Viejo Vallarta are perfect. We took one morning off, set out by foot around 11am and were back to the pool by 2pm! everything is so perfectly close. Suggestions: If you want to party hit up the Malecon, there are bars galore. Mandala is one worth searching for, right on the boardwalk. This club is amazing, it doesn't have a front wall so the huge light up dance floor has an incredible view right out to the beach and the ocean. The Zoo, another good one was right next door.

This hotel is not huge which is nice because you aren't fighting crowds for food or lounge chairs and it's not too small that there isn't anything to do. It's also a great place to meet people. We meet groups from Guadalajara Mexico, SO MANY from Canada, England, Scottland, and even our hometown! We had met about 4 amazing people withing 20 minutes of arriving at the hotel!!

The place was just amazing overall and if you are looking for a great 3 star place, nothing too extravagant, and are not super uptight you will love this place! It's clean, fun, friendly, and a great location!